Tuesday, February 5, 2013

The membership form has been updated for the 2013 year. The new form has some extra information, as well as new lifetime membership options. Several members have not renewed for 2013 -we hope that this provides a gentle reminder!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

As humanists, we should be not only concerned with the needs of people living today, but those who are not even born yet. It is imperative that we strive to keep our planet habitable for future generations. Protecting the environment goes hand-in-hand with the ideals of humanism.

Recently, one of our members wrote a letter to President Obama, urging him to take action on this issue. He has allowed us to post this letter here, so that others may use it to craft their own letters. Maybe write your senator or representative also.

December 5th, 2012

President Obama:

I’m a 36-year-old physician in
Florida, and I write to you as a citizen and a strong supporter. I
want to talk about climate change. I know you are very aware of the
science and of what is at stake. You must be. I write to you to
make an argument for going out on a limb. I suspect you understand
the issue based on your quiet support for alternative energy
development, but I need more from you. You should take a stand. You
should support a plan to rid ourselves of fossil fuels. For example,
put your weight behind a carbon tax with 100% dividend payment to tax
payers, and sound the alarm on the shortcomings of cap and trade
policies. You should be pushing for 4th generation
nuclear power development and the end of fossil fuel industry
subsidies. You should be helping Americans wake up from the slumber
and denial related to climate change. That would be political
suicide, you may think, and I need to tell you – so what!

What good is it to be a two-term
president but be known forever as one of the global leaders at the
helm when we failed to act to avert this great disaster? How hollow
to win re-election and fail to provide a better future for your
daughters and my sons! A tipping point in climate change could be
reached very soon. If you are waiting for absolute certainty before
risking your political career and your party, sorry. It doesn’t
work that way. The scientific method is as close to truth as we can
get. Climate experts such as James Hansen have been for years making
a very scientifically sound argument for immediate action. Outside
of a few discredited scientists bought by oil companies, climate
experts worldwide are very confident about what our binge on fossil
fuels is doing to our planet and our future.

I believe making climate change a
principal subject in your communications with staff, congress,
foreign leaders and the people can help us get started down this
difficult but unavoidable path to a life with minimal fossil fuel
use. I know you are not a dictator and that your powers are limited.
But your leadership can help create massive public pressure with
protests and other forms of activism to overcome special interest in
Washington and maybe help pass the needed bills to get started.
Organizations like 350.org are already creating the infrastructure
necessary for this fight. Finally, continued silence on this issue,
with all the scientific evidence available, is criminal and
unethical. The well-being of our children and future generations is
much more important than your political career or the Democratic
Party. I see this as a civil rights issue, the right of our children
and future generations to a livable planet where they can be free and
pursue their happiness.

Your critics do not expect you to go
on principle, and risk your credibility and political clout. But I
and many more do. My bet is: if you put your heart into it you will
remembered always at the vanguard of the environmentalist movement
that gave our species a new lease on life, and better yet, your
daughters and my sons will have a brighter future. If you find this
letter harsh in tone, it is by design. I am appealing to your
rational mind and not your vanity. I believe you are a man guided by
reason and not ideology. I trust you are honest with others and with
yourself. That is why I voted for you and contributed to your
campaign both times. That is why I write this letter full of hope.